


Bandages and Soot

by TiBun



Category: Marvel
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Awkward Flirting, Bucky Barnes Bingo 2020, Clumsy Clint Barton, Deaf Clint Barton, First Dates, Fluff, M/M, Minor Injuries, Pre-Relationship, Winterhawk Wonderland Gift Exchange, winterhawk - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27910393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiBun/pseuds/TiBun
Summary: “Oh, you’re new. Hi! I’m Clint. I come here often.”“I have been warned.” Bucky said with amusement curling his lips.“Got a name, or should I just give in and start calling you ‘hot nurse’?”
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Comments: 9
Kudos: 115
Collections: Bucky Barnes Bingo 2020, Winterhawk Wonderland - 2020 edition!





	Bandages and Soot

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hawkguyandthewinterdude](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawkguyandthewinterdude/gifts).



> Happy Winterhawk Wonderland to hawkguyandthewinterdude! I hope you like your gift!  
> Prompt I chose to follow: Nurse! Bucky and frequent patient Clint!
> 
> Betad by RedTeamShark
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters, I only explore the possibilities.
> 
> Bingo fill: Bucky Barnes Bingo - Free Space (This gives me a bingo!)

“Ah, not again.” Peggy, the head nurse on duty that night, muttered to herself as she pretended to go over a file on her clipboard, though her eyes were watching someone waiting in one of the attemptedly-comfortable chairs in the waiting room.

“What is it?” Bucky asked, placing a file in a filing drawer.

“Barton.” She sighed.

“Who’s that?”

She shot him a confused look before letting out a gasp, “Oh you haven't been on duty at all when he has come in since you transferred here two months ago! He’s a guy who’s in here at least once a week for one thing or another. Stitches, concussions, occasionally cracked or broken bones… It’s a huge guessing game on how he’s managed to hurt himself every time he walks, or is brought, in through those doors. Everyone knows him here. We’ve jokingly considered dedicating a room to him.”

“Are there any red flags about all these visits here?” Bucky asked in concern.

“One would think, but he’s just clumsy, as far as we can tell. I’ll have you take him back this time so you can see for yourself. Philip, once Barton checks in send him into room three. Bucky’ll take care of him before the doctor goes in.”

“Will do.”

Bucky pulled Barton’s medical file and skimmed over it to pick out the important information before grabbing the newly filled out form and reading it over as he headed to room three.

Clinton F. Barton was sitting on the examination table, legs dangling freely off the edge. As he clutched a huge wad of paper towels to his arm. He was handsome and well built with short blond hair and bright blue eyes. Purple hearing aids looped over his ears, and a smile as blinding as sunshine was on his face as he turned his attention away from one of the posters hanging on the wall.

“Oh, you’re new. Hi! I’m Clint. I come here often.”

“I have been warned.” Bucky said with amusement curling his lips.

“Got a name, or should I just give in and start calling you ‘hot nurse’?”

“Bucky. Now, you came in because you cut your arm?”

“Oh, yeah, funny story, that.” Clint grinned despite the fact he should have been in too much pain to be so chipper.

“Come on and show me, I’ll see if I need to call a doctor in to give you stitches or if I can get it all cleaned up myself before he comes in to talk to you.” he said, pulling a pair of gloves on after washing his hands.

“Yeah, I don’t know if it’s that bad or not, but it’s on my dominant arm so, you know, hard for me to try and just superglue it shut myself.” Clint waited for Bucky to walk closer with supplies to clean the wound before he pulled the paper towel wad away to show off the cut.

“How did you manage this?” Bucky asked as he started looking it over.

“The story involves a potato, and an opossum.” Clint warned.

“Wait, what?”

“Just a warning in case you’re fresh out of med school or whatever and might get distracted by the story.”

Bucky quirked a smile, “I’m new to this hospital, not new to the job.”

Clint shrugged before launching into his story.

“So I was peeling potatoes, you know, normal dinner at home adulting crap. My bestie, Nat, is always scolding me for just getting delivery or takeout, so I’m trying to cook something once a week just to get her to ease off my back a bit, you know? It’s so boring, but anyway, I’m peeling these potatoes, planning on cutting them up and frying them in butter and garlic salt just like my mom used to make for breakfast sometimes, when I hear a scuffling sound.”

“Try not to animate your story with the arm I’m cleaning, please.” Bucky chuckled, stopping Clint from throwing his arm up during his telling of events.

“Sorry. Anyway, I think nothing of it. I just assumed it was Lucky, my dog, and the best doggo ever! A hundred out of ten, best snuggler. Super good boy. Anyway, I just assume it’s him and he’s gotten tired of lounging around in our apartment and wants to go outside to run around a bit so I tell him that I’ll take him outside once I finish peeling the potatoes. Only then he starts barking, and he’s not a big barker. At least, not when he’s inside. And then something jumps up onto my kitchen table and it  _ hisses _ at me. I’m so startled I scream like a little girl and I don’t know what exactly happens next but there’s this fat opossum with huge teeth staring me down as Lucky’s barking and then all hell breaks loose until I manage to chase the thing out through the open window I assume it got in through. Slammed the window shut and finally realized I cut myself somewhere in there.”

“Did it bite you?” Bucky asked.

“Don’t think so? Pretty sure it was my own knife that caused the damage and not the toothy criminal that broke into my house. Lucky’s fine. I checked him over before I came here. Later when recounting the story of my new scar I think I’ll just say the bugger broke into my place and stabbed me.”

Bucky chuckled, “Well, it does look like it needs stitches, so it likely will scar.” He finished the initial cleaning and pressed some gauze over the cut before stripping off his gloves and throwing them away. “I’ll be back with the doctor, please keep pressure on that until we get back.”

“Right-o, Buck-o.” Clint smiled.

“Please don’t call me that.”

Bucky left the room feeling a flutter in his stomach. Clint Barton was undoubtedly a disaster, and it shouldn’t be so charming.

* * *

Peggy was right, Clint did come in far too often.

Not that Bucky was going to complain about getting the chance to see and talk with the cute blond, but he would complain about the amount of injuries serious enough to warrant a visit he managed to get.

Bucky didn’t get to be the nurse that helped Clint every time he came in, but he was enough to get to know him on a little more of a personal level. It really didn’t help his growing crush he felt on the blond.

“Do you work over the holidays?” Clint asked on his latest visit. Bucky hadn’t treated him at all, but Clint was sitting in the waiting room, holding an ice pack to a goose egg on his head from a tumble down a flight of stairs. He had a minor concussion, and under the orders of his doctor, he wasn’t permitted to drive himself home, so he was waiting for someone to pick him up.

“I work Christmas eve, but the day of, I’m only on call. Why?”

Clint shrugged, “Thought it’d be nice to see you without the excuse of injury.”

“And you think a family holiday would be a good time for a first date?”

Clint shrugged again, “Hit my head pretty hard, you know. Plus I figure that it’d be easy for you to find a way to let me down easy if I’ve gotten the wrong idea about whatever.”

“If I wanted to let you down easy, I’d tell you I didn’t date people I meet at work.” Bucky said

“Oh.”

“I do have plans with my family on Christmas.”

“Oh…”

“So how about tomorrow? I work the night shift tonight so I’ll need the morning to sleep, but I can meet up with you after that.”

Clint’s face lit up, “Yeah! Sounds good. Here, let me give you my number so you can text me when you’re awake!” Clint said, writing his number down for Bucky.

* * *

“What has got you all gooey-eyed, Barton?” Kate asked, flopping down into the chair across from Clint with her mug of coffee.

“I’m not gooey-eyed.”

“He has a date with that hot nurse he’s been sighing about for months now.” Natasha said from the counter where she was fixing a sandwich.

“Ah, he’s in love. Gross.” Kate nodded into her coffee.

“As if you’re one to talk, little miss ‘I get to spend the next three days at my girlfriend’s house’.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, and he flipped her off.

“You’re both sickenly adorable with your little dates.” Natasha said, sitting down, “No need to fight over it like children.”

“He has a date, I have a relationship.” Kate said.

“And I am surrounded by idiots in love.”

“You love us.” Clint grinned.

“My greatest flaw—oi, you better not—Clint!” Natasha protested as Clint swiped half of her sandwich and took a big bite out of it. “Changed my mind. I hate you.”

Clint grinned as he chewed, signing  _ “You love me” _ after he put the sandwich down.

Before she could respond, the alarm started going off in a blare of noise and flashing light. Everyone jumped into action, abandoning their lunches as they hurried to pull on their gear and hop into the fire truck.

* * *

Clint arriving late wasn’t all that surprising. He had a bad habit of it, but he had really hoped to be on time for this date, and not running from the bus stop down the snowy streets towards the place Bucky had agreed to meet up with him at.

The fire had been a large job to put out, keeping he and the whole team busy well past the end of their shift. When it was finally brought down under control and their jobs were done, Clint went back to the station and grabbed his phone from where he’d left it in the kitchen area. Bucky’s text was waiting for him and he quickly texted that he was off work and on his way.

He swung around a corner and continued forward, yelping in surprise when his feet lost traction on a patch of ice, sending him skidding forward, arms flailing in an attempt to stay upright.

Arms caught him and gently pulled him off the ice into a little bank of snow. “Lets not send you off to the hospital today.” a voice teased.

“Bucky?” he looked up to see the handsome, smiling face of the nurse he had asked out tucked snugly into a blue scarf for warmth.

“Good of you to make it.”

“Sorry,” Clint cringed as he found his footing and regained his balance so he wasn’t hanging off Bucky like an oversized rag doll, “Work ran over.” 

“You know, you never told me what it is you do.”

“No? Oh, well, take a guess!”

“Honestly, I would have guessed you were something sporty given your build and constant bumps and bruises, That stuff on your face makes me second guess myself, what is that? Grease?”

“Face?” Clint rubbed his hand over his face and looked at the black that came off on his fingers, and he shrugged with a guilty smile, “Guess I should have taken the time to wash up a bit. It’s soot. I’m a firefighter. Surprised?”

“Yup, never would have guessed that.”

“And somehow I’ve never been in to see you and your coworkers because of a burn.”

“Very impressive, all things considered.”

“I can be graceful.” Clint insisted, “I just need to be in the right mindset.”

“I’ll believe that when I see the evidence. Come on, let's figure out what we want to do.”

“We could get lunner.”

“Lunner?”

Clint shrugged, “Too late for lunch, too early for dinner. Lunner.”

“You’re a strange guy.” Bucky smiled.

“Lunner’s no more strange than brunch. It uses the exact same logic!” Clint shrugged. “Up for some hand-holding?” Clint asked, holding his hand out, palm up.

“I could go for some hand-holding.” Bucky agreed, taking his hand and lacing their fingers together, “And some...lunner.”

“Aw hell yeah, lunner.” Clint pumped his free fist.

Bucky laughed, “Only because it’s with a hot firefighter.”

“It’s best when shared with a hot nurse.” he shot back with a wink.

“So, have you modeled in any of those sexy firefighter calendars you guys tend to do?”

Clint felt his face flush a deep red, “Actually, yeah, I was asked to shoot a spread for the upcoming calendar. I’m the sexy July man. All shirtless and stuff. Suggestive pose with a hose, water everywhere. I don’t know, I just did what I was told by the photographer as my coworkers sprayed water all over me with garden hoses.”

“I’ll have to get one this year.”

“I’ll let you know once we get them in from the printers. Normally we have them by now, but there’s been some sort of delay.”

They entered a casual dining restaurant and Clint wiggled Bucky’s hand, “You go get us in queue for a table, I’ll just go try to clean off some of this soot so I look halfway presentable.”

“Sounds good. Don’t forget the smudge on your nose.” Bucky teased.

“Just for you, babe.” Clint winked before slipping away towards the restrooms where he used a wet paper towel to clean the soot off his face before giving his hands a good wash. Once he was done, he returned, finding Bucky waiting for him.

“They said it’ll be only about a five minute wait.” Bucky said, “Most of which you spent in the men’s room.”

“Neat.”

Bucky slipped his arm around Clint’s shoulders, pulling him in closer, “You smell like a campfire.”

“Hope that isn’t a turn off.”

“I don’t see me running away, do you?”

“Not yet.”

“Well, I don’t think I will.” Bucky said as his name was called, “And now it seems our first date can begin.”

“Only just now? I thought it started the moment you saved me from falling on the ice.” Clint grinned as they moved to follow the hostess to their table.

“Nah, that was just a confirmation that you were falling for me.” Bucky teased.

And yeah, Clint was falling for the guy quite quickly.

* * *

-End-

**Author's Note:**

> 1Thank you for reading


End file.
